FAQ about the Peaceful Fight
Much of what is listed in this section is also covered on other pages within the site. This page has been written for the casual browsing martial artist but if it sparks your interest or raises other questions either E-mail me or read the rest of the site.
1) Why is the style called "Peaceful Fight" ?
Good question and shows your brain is in gear : always desirable within any student. The Peaceful Fight name came to me after many other less successful names were discounted (just be thankful you are not part of "Self Reliance" or "Ronin" Kung Fu both of which crossed my mind and were rapidly consigned to history). However, it goes a lot deeper than just having a catchy name. As with many items within Chinese philosophy the name works on a number of different levels some of which are :-
a) The Peaceful Fight ethos is something which students should try to follow every day. It is a system based not on violence but on honourable and quiet living. The conflict to achieve this within oneself goes on everyday without any outward signs. Thus the Peaceful Fight is occurring at all times within students.
b) Linking the first point with Chinese philosophy, Yin and Yang are in constant flow and inter- conversion. This interconversion is see both in the microcosm (internal) and macrocosm (wider World) effects encountered by students. The continuous and fluid nature of change that the style tries to achieve and embrace mirrors these changes.
c) Control of emotions and the mind is one important area of study for students as this is the most important step in avoiding confrontation and violence. However, if violence is inevitable, the martial aspect of the art aims to achieve a specific state of mind during fighting or conflict. This state of mind can be described as dispassionate and uncaring with neither enjoyment nor shame being registered during inflicting damage on an opponent. The mind is said to be Peaceful and again acts as a root for the name of the style.
2) What does "Kung Fu" mean ?
Depending on your view it can mean either "hard work" or "energy time". In some ways, the Chinese don't see martial arts as being any different from other pastimes such as needlework or academic study. The important thing is that you can strive to be something better than what you are today. Anything that takes a lot of effort to achieve and requires dedication and self improvement can be termed an act of Kung Fu when mastered.
3) So What do you do ?
Massage, acupressure, joint manipulation, first aid, physiology, psychology, anatomy, pathology, internal energy patterns, Chinese philosophy and their applications to life and body function.
4) So Peaceful Fight plans to massage any opponent to death if confronted by an aggressor rather than punching and kicking ?
Not quite, but the Peaceful Fight teaching methods do need a bit of explanation. One underlying theory of most (if not all) Chinese philosophy is the competition between the forces of yin and yang. All things, all solids, all thoughts and all actions contain within them both a positive (yang) and negative (yin) component. As such, nothing is ever totally good or totally bad but a mixture of the two. Violence is no different from any other issue within the world: there are times when it is the correct thing to do in a situation. However, by way of an example of how Peaceful Fight works, lets have an example. For this example, lets call the opposite parts of the teachings "negative" and "positive" (although this is a bit simplistic) :-
Example of Peaceful Fight Teaching
Massage between partners or friends makes each other feel good and so is the "positive" side of laying hands onto someone. Generally, massage gently kneads the fibres of a muscle group to give them flexibility and remove tension that gives the contented "ahhhhhhhh" factor. Applying the same techniques in a "negative way" with rapid force or applied force against the flow of the muscle leads to damage in the opponents muscle structure (the painful "arrrrggggghhhh" factor). Applying the laying of hands in this way makes it more likely a fight will terminate (ie the touch is being used in a negative way) . An exponent of Peaceful Fight must understand and accept that the application of damaging forces into an opponent are just part of the ebb and flow of yin and yang. The "good" bits of the life you lead are balanced by these small "bad" instances of invoking the "arrrrggggghhhh" actor in someone else.
5) So you really are a martial art after all ?
Yes. Each of the techniques used to heal / understand the human body / mind will also be explained in their destructive way. Such is the nature of Yin and Yang within knowledge: there's good and bad in all things.
6) So what do you do in a martial way ?
The system incorporates everything that is useful for a martial art without anything flashy. These include
1) striking weapons (fist, foot, fingers, elbows, knees etc),
2) Striking areas (joints, muscles, tendons, pressure points etc.),
3) locks (joints, spine, pressure points etc),
4) evasion (i.e. getting out of the way of an opponent)
5) preflight difficulties and strategies (ie the "If you are standing
there, get ready to fight" time)
6) grappling (bear hugs, joint locking etc),
7) floor fighting,
8) weaponry (both defence against and its proper use). Main weapons covered
knife, chair, belt, short stick and staff)
9) grasping / seizing (eg to take opponent off balance)
10) effects of clothing and methods of using it to get an advantage
11) strength / speed / agility training
12) internal energy development
13) natural reaction against trained response
14) if you think of anything else, come along and ask about it and we'll
work it into the lesson
The relative importance of each of these areas and a grade by grade breakdown are shown on the syllabus page.
7) Can anyone train ? Is there any bar against, men, women, OAPs, disabled people or children taking part?
As stated before, one of the basic tenets of Peaceful Fight is to judge people by their actions not by some preprescribed stereotype. As a consequence, all students are treated equally independent of race, sex, age or past history. Peaceful Fight should have something for everyone. However, a second basic tenet of Peaceful Fight is that anyone can live their life in any manner they wish as long as that way of life does not affect others in a negative way. If a student came to Peaceful Fight with a "bad intent" towards the training of other students (such as being disruptive during meditation or striking to hurt during sparring) then they are negatively affecting their fellow students and this would not be acceptable. In order to safeguard against this kind of negative behaviour, the clubs are taught in a very traditional (ie regimented) manner. There are rules of what is acceptable and what is unacceptable during training both within and outside the training hall. Anyone who consciously violates these rules makes himself or herself a target for possible rejection. It is for a student to control themselves rather than be controlled by the style as they are only in the training hall for a few hours per week but with themselves 24/7.
A probationary period of assessment (typically 3 - 6 months) gives students the chance to assess the system and see whether it is "for them". The same probation allows the system to assess the student and see whether they are suited to its objectives.
8) What Happens at the End of the Probation Period ?
At the end of this probation period, students will be interviewed to see whether they wish to continue to train within Peaceful Fight. Simultaneously, the student's behaviour during the probation period will be assessed by the club to see whether the club wishes to keep them. Students will be recommended to visit other clubs to make sure they are not missing their true vocation within the martial arts. This isn't because Peaceful Fight does not want the students to train but the system has no desire for a student to do 10 years or so of Peaceful fight and then regret not doing Karate instead. The only way for a student to know if peaceful Fight is for them is to go and see other things. Peaceful Fight has connections with many very good martial arts clubs in the district and a list will be supplied towards the end of the probation period.
In the rare event of the system deciding that a student is not suited to learning Peaceful Fight, all monies (eg training fees) will be returned to the student. If the student decides that other arts are more suited to them then the system keeps the money.
9) You Still Recommend The Club From Which You Left. If it is So Good Why aren't You Still There ?
Hok Koon (Crane Fist) Kung Fu was where I studied for 10 or so years under the auspices of Grandmaster John Fletcher. Eventually, Grandmaster was happy to raise me to Instructor status and, eventually grade me to second black. I thought I would be there forever and was happy in my studies / teaching. However, one day (quite out of the blue for me) the Chief Instructor accused me of various items which I believed to be untrue and unfounded. From those other students who were there during our disagreement, I argued my case badly, and came across badly in my own defence. Myself and the Chief Instructor could not agree on my guilt / innocence, we came to an impasse and I felt I had no other course of action open to me but to relinquish my status/ rank etc. within the school. For me, a sad end to many years of effort. Bearing in mind that history is always biassed towards the person who's telling the story, I believe that I had no case to answer when accused by the Chief Instructor and if it had been handled differently I would have still been there. I also believe that I served Grandmaster Fletcher faithfully and respectfully all of the years that I was with him and tried to help his school achieve the standards which he wished for.
Not unsurprisingly, the actual story takes a lot longer than this brief explanation but it gives the bare bones of the situation. Grandmaster Fletcher was kind enough to give his view of the situation which I replicate with his permission, as written below :-
"I have been a teacher and later a Grandmaster of the art of Kung Fu for many years (approximately 38). I have taught many types of martial artists from all round the country. Out of the many hundred or perhaps thousands that I have taught, there have not been many that have had the want or the need for the deep meaning of the knowledge of the pure art of Kung Fu. Doug was one of these few students. It was a sad loss when Doug left my Kung Fu school where he earned the accolade of Instructor 2nd black.
Why did I let him go you might ask. Due to illness, I had given the full control of my clubs to the Chief Instructor. An awkward consultation had sprung up between the Chief Instructor and Doug. Unfortunately, an impasse had arisen and would unlikely be resolved without my intervention. Unfortunately, I could not as it would only create more animosity between them and the smooth running of the club be affected. Doug in his wisdom and understanding and for the benefit of myself and the club decided to leave.
Later, I wrote to Doug thanking him for his many years of dedication to myself and the club. I told him never to give up teaching as he has so much to offer. I am happy that he listened and is now going to open his own club"
Grandmaster was always very kind to me and his reply reflects his personality. I have no complaint with him. If you really really want more details of the events which lead up to my leaving Hok Koon then please feel free to ask me about it. However, it's old news now. Grandmaster was / is a superb martial artist and has a fine school. This is why I still recommend his classes to all and sundry.
10) So Peaceful Fight is Just Hok Koon Under another Name ?
No, in developing Peaceful Fight, I removed all of those items which are specific to Hok Koon. For me, to teach these without Grandmaster Fletcher's approval would be unjust. That said though, a brief look at the syllabus will show Peaceful Fight covers most (or all) of techniques found in other martial systems, some of which inevitably overlap with Hok Koon. The human body can only move in certain ways ; closing a fist is closing a fist and it doesn't matter if it is called Karate or Kung Fu or who is teaching it.
Another major difference between peaceful Fight and Hok Koon is that Hok Koon had no particular interest in many of the areas which underpin Peaceful Fight (eg TCM, Qigong, Dim Mak, acupressure, etc). These areas I have been lucky to learn since leaving Hok Koon. Those other instructors / masters / influences which have helped me achieve these extra parts are listed on other pages. Although, Hok Koon was my life for many years (and I would have never left by choice), leaving has made me a better all round martial artist / healer / person and I feel better for it. The "learning experience" aspects of my leaving highlights that sometimes the things you pin your life on aren't always the most important part of your existence. A valid learning experience for anyone.
11) Can students from other arts practise Peaceful Fight ?
Students from other arts are always welcome within Peaceful Fight. It serves to strengthen the links between martial artists and help students appreciate other people's arts. However, any visiting student must abide by the rules of the Peaceful Fight club and not by the rules in their "home" club. If students from other styles wish to learn Peaceful Fight alongside their own style, Peaceful Fight will visit the students club to meet his / her Sensei / Sifu etc to ensure that any items taught within Peaceful Fight does not lead to conflict within the student's primary art.
12) Is Peaceful Fight better than other martial arts style ?
Within martial arts, all systems have strengths and weaknesses so no one style is the best. However, the main strength of any system is the dedication of its students and the depth of its knowledge. Each martial system bases its foundations on the basics that it feels are important for self-defence. Some systems believe speed is best, others believe in strength, others still believe competition is the way to hone skills: each has its beliefs and should be respected for that. Peaceful fight is slightly different from a "normal" martial art as it places the emphasis of what is important not solely on what is important for fighting but also on what is important for life, one part of that life being the need to have effective self defence.
13) Is there a lot of physical contact ?
The only way to learn about healing techniques is to feel someone else's muscle structure / tendon strength / pulse etc. As a consequence, there is a degree of physical contact involved in the healing training. This is probably one of the most difficult things within Peaceful Fight. Most societies do not have civilian positions where strangers touch each other, especially not to try to give relaxation, with this only being done by professionals or trusted companions. Within Peaceful Fight, this positive touching is built up slowly starting initially on areas where there is less of a taboo (eg the hands or shoulders). Eventually, students will trust their fellow students and understand that any touching with be fun but functional (i.e. its not an excuse to cop a feel !). Over time, students will feel more relaxed with this as they understand more about their own anatomy and become comfortable with students who they have formed a bond.
Similarly, within the martial aspects of the style, a certain degree of contact is necessary (e.g. during locking or grasping techniques) but this will be kept to a minimum and be closely controlled to maintain student safety. Other times where contact is required where body conditioning is required (i.e. the ability to "take a shot" if all that defensive training goes wrong). However, the level of contact that any student encounters will be built up over time and be individually tailored to any student. There is no advantage of going home in a condition less able to fight than when you arrived, you might need your skills that night.
14) Can I get a Black Belt and if so, how long does it take ?
Any grading system is only really specific to the art that is giving out the accolade. Some styles take 20 years to get a degree of mastery whilst others can take less than a year. It all depends on why you want the belt. If you are really desperate the quickest way to get a black belt is to go to the sports shop and buy one. Kung fu is for your own personal development and not really as a "badge" to impress other people with. The value of any grade is the knowledge it has given you. Peaceful Fight does have a black sash within its structure and it denotes the transition from student to instructor. Not unsurprisingly, the timescale for getting instructorship varies between students and their workrate. Typically 4 - 7 years will elapse before a student achieves a suitable level of knowledge and standard of performance to become a junior instructor. However, by that time it is hoped that the knowledge behind the sash will mean more to the student than its actual colour.
15) Have you Ever Been in a Fight Since You've Been Training and if so Did you Win ?
Yes, I was in a fight when I was instructing Hok Koon and no I didn't win. Thankfully only a bit of whiplash and a blackeye were all I got for my trouble but longer term it affected my confidence a bit. All those years of training and I still ended up on the floor ! However, looking back on it, it was one of the most rewarding (if slightly painful !) learning experiences of my martial art life. The only times I had fought before this was at school (a long time ago now !) and I'd never lost. Losing this one encounter "woke me up" to the realities of street fighting and these realities are reflected in Peaceful Fight. A suitable phrase is "Learn from a man with experience, not one with theories" and that is where Peaceful Fight starts. Losing that fight has given me the necessary insight to teach and understand the unpleasantness which might encounter one day (and conversely might need to employ one day).
In case you are now thinking that it's not worth learning Peaceful Fight from a "loser", bear in mind that many senior martial artists you speak to (even the "hard men") will have gone through an initial failure during fighting. From discussion with them, most losses stem from trying to be too "nice", too cocky or too gentle in the confrontation. For me it was a combination of all of these plus a few more ! Generally, martial arts clubs are full of nice people as they are the ones who need to learn to fight : psychopaths already know all the moves so generally don't attend ! I'm still a "nice guy" and learning Peaceful Fight won't make you a psychopath but neither will you be a potential victim or your own worse enemy. Peaceful Fight keeps it "niceness" for day-to-day living and promotes this as the more desirable face of humanity. However, it also retains its "nastiness" for when violence is the correct response to being threatened. Neither are to be ashamed of.
16) If there a lot of Chinese to learn ?
Many martial art systems use the native tongue of the art; as a consequence, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Spanish are often encountered. Similarly, Western medicine uses a number of unusual (and often difficult to remember) terms to describe the body structure rather than simple descriptions. Both of these systems of wordplay distance the student from the knowledge which is trying to be passed from an instructor. In a nutshell, students are thinking more about translation rather than learning ! Because of these difficulties, Peaceful Fight is explained in the simplest language possible and 99% of the time this is English. The extra 1% will be in Chinese, mainly because some concepts in Chinese thought have no easy English translation (Yin / yang might be a typical example). This is especially so when studying Qi meridian structure and aspects Traditional Chinese Medicine. However, students will not be penalised for not remembering the correct wording as long as they can apply the concept at the appropriate time.
17) What is the Picture Which You have Used as the Website Emblem
The picture is called "Autumn of the Cranes" and acts as an ironic reminder to me that my days as a crane fighter are over. I bought it from a friend of mine in Hong Kong called Kam Leung. Kam is a very entertaining salesman of good value Oriental art and worth contacting even if you are not buying anything. A more detailed recommendation of Kam's website is given on the "Peaceful Fight Recommends" page of this site.
18) How do You Justify Violence
Violence and aggression should ideally only form a very small part of any student's life. One of the philosophies of Peaceful Fight is that you live for 70 years but fight maybe 5 or 6 times. As a consequence, Peaceful Fight sees it as better to learn to live rather than just fight.
However, it must be accepted that violence will probably happen to everyone one day, however careful students are to avoid such actions. Put another way, the violence and damage that students may one day have to inflict on real life opponents is never desirable but occasionally unavoidable. For generally "good" people (which most martial artists are), these times of "unpleasantness" have to be balanced against sound reasoning for damaging another person otherwise it can become an mental worry pulling away at the student's psyche. This self doubt may occur either because the student liked the violence too much or hates himself or herself too much for getting to the stage of having to have to use it or possibly because inappropriate techniques (eg excessively damaging) where chosen for the situation. Living a positive life, both for yourself, your family and the wider community allows these points of extreme negative action to be seen in the context of the "big picture". This allows a degree of peace to be found from the actions (the "it had to be done" concept) which again underpins the style.
In a nutshell, if through no fault of your own, someone wishes to act in a negative way towards you (eg to "break your face") they are running the show. It is their decision to release their violence and you are just in the wrong place at the wrong time. If you live a "good" life helping family, friends and strangers in need, there is no shame in defending yourself to the fullest extent of your ability when attacked or threatened. Actually, in some ways it helps to balance the good and bad aspects of your character so helping the rebalancing of your internal Yin and Yang. That's not to say that you should retain your negative feelings until they explode and then justify it as a balancing exercise ! Better to do "slow release" of tensions by challenging the little, day-to-day things which annoy you first and then not end up redirecting your frustrations against an opponent at the wrong time.
19) What's your title, Sensei, Sifu, Sijo etc ?
At various points within the website I mentioned that I relinquished my status and title when I left Crane Fist. As a consequence, I have no title. If you are obsessed with such things then call me "Mr" but most people call me Doug (or Douglas when I do something wrong !). Some friends argue that I'm a Sijo (founder of a system) and others suggest Sifu (Instructor) and I might take one of these titles if and when students under my instruction achieve a sufficient standard of Kung Fu. However, for the moment "Mr" is fine (but please call me Doug).
20) Why is your E-mail "DOGMAN794" ?
Never really expected this to be a FAQ but it keeps coming up. Strange what people ask ! Anyway, DOG comes from my days playing the old style video games in the arcades. The early ones only had memory for 3 digits and I've never liked the abbreviation Dug so Dog was chosen instead. Some less than charitable friends have suggested that it gives a good indication of the level of my amazing good looks so visitors won't be frightened when they meet me ! Might be true but maybe a new circle of friends beckons ! Anyway, I resurrected the tag after trying various names on AOL and finding that they were already registered. 794 was just a random number to fill in the rest of the name. Mark Lashmar from Warrior Eskrima has pointed out that this is terminally boring explanation and I really should have thought of something more "spiritual" to make myself seem more interesting. I quite agree and let this be a lesson to anyone starting on the information Superhighway. Your E-mail address might seriously affect your martial arts credibility in years to come if you choose badly !
21) What is the Chinese on the club logo ?
I'm greatly indebted to Dr Chi for thinking about the club logo and getting something that made sense. My initial creation was "bala shiji" which I thought meant "touch the World gently" but Dr Chi gently pointed out that my Mandarin was way off ! Dr Chi was kind enough to come up with the new version which reads "Qiang Long Hui". Qiang means "peaceful", Long literally means "Dragon" but can be interpretated as "strength" or "nature" or "natural" or "intent" and Hui means "a group of like minded people". Exactly how you put these together is your own interpretation but I like "A group of like minded people of peaceful intent" as this sums up how the club works and also its objectives.
Other common questions will be added here as and when they arise. If you have any specific item you wish to discuss then please feel free to contact me.